Shepherds after God’s heart

Posted byMichael D JohnsonPosted inUncategorized

Jesus said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?”… And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Tend My sheep.

John 21:17

 

 

Dear Pastor,

I know you and I are shepherds. We take care of the sheep. We deal with their complaining, we tend their wounds, we feed and nourish them, we protect them from threats and from enemies.

But how does God call us to shepherd? What does it mean to shepherd like God wants us to? 

The Scriptures say to us in Jeremiah and Ezekiel that God had become furious with His shepherds because of the way they were leading His people. Here are some of the things God judged His shepherds for:

  • Being senseless and stupid and not praying for the flock (Jer 10:21)
  • Not tending to the needs of the flock (Jer 23:2 and Ez 34:4)
  • Telling the people “peace, peace” when there wasn’t going to be peace so long as the people continued in disobedience (Jer 6:14)

As a result of the shepherds’ lack of care for the flock, God says that

  • The flock is scattered (Jer 10:21)
  • The sickly are not strengthened,
  • the diseased are not healed,
  • the broken are not bound up,
  • the scattered are not brought back (Ez 34:4)

What a sad reality for the people who are part of God’s kingdom, His holy nation, His Beloved.

But God gives us two great promises that we can hold to:

  1. He tells us that He Himself will shepherd His people (Ez 34:15) and
  2. He tells us that He will give the people shepherds after His own heart (Jer 3:15)

I know that you and I both want to serve the Great Shepherd with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. You and I want to be faithful to everything He has commanded us. We also want to be the shepherds that God has given the people who are after His own heart. And so I encourage you today:

  • Pray for your flock that they may return to the fold

  • Feed your flock on the bread of life, the Word of God, that which truly nourishes and sustains

  • Warn your flock of the danger, threats and the consequences for disobedience

  • Run after those in your flock who have wandered off

  • Help to heal the sick and bind up the broken

If you and I will do these things, as we faithfully and wholeheartedly run after the Lord, I know that we will see the move of His Spirit in our midst.

Thank you for being a shepherd with a heart for God. Thank you for feeding God’s sheep!

Christ is with us, Christ is in us

Mike J

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